On a beach in Texas, a marine life researcher recently discovered an astonishing sea creature. In a video posted on YouTube, Jace Tunnell of the University of Texas Marine Institute identified the creature as an especially large American eel.
The video was posted on Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve’s YouTube channel as part of an educational series.
“If you’ve never seen one of these before, [you should know] this one is larger than normal. This is basically as big as they get,” he says in the video. “This thing is massive…Usually, they’re a lot smaller. People use them for fishing bait and stuff like that. Of course, this one is too big for that.”
American eels: what are they?
American eels can be spotted in the Lone Star State, however they are scarce. Texas Parks & Wildlife notes they boast a slender, snakelike form and unimaginably small scales – making them appear somewhat naked. Their range is truly vast – stretching from New Mexico to the Caribbean and West Indies. Interesting enough, most of these regions recognize it as a native species, except central and western areas of Texas where large dams have prevented their spawning migration routes.
Considering the large size of the eel, Tunnell believes it is likely to be a female. American eels are the only freshwater eels in North America, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As explained by the agency, they are technically considered “catadromous,” which means they live primarily in rivers and estuaries, but migrate to the ocean for breeding.
A female eel can lay up to 4 million eggs at a time. They often die after spawning offshore. This species is distinct from the commonly known moray eel.
Sources: MSN
